NFL

Greg Hardy's days with the Cowboys might be numbered, but a former Dallas star -- who recently got out of prison himself -- thinks he can put the controversial player back on the path to success.

Eugene Lockhart -- a star linebacker for the 'Boys from 1984 to 1990 -- served 3 years in the federal pen for taking out fraudulent loans in the early 2000s. Lockhart got out last summer, and says he sees a lot of himself in Hardy.

Lockhart says he now realizes how immature he was as a young player -- "Staying out late, the alcohol, drugs just not living the right way we took a lot for granted and when we see guys like [Hardy] it starts reminding you of yourself. There is no doubt, he needs a mentor.”

Since getting out, Lockhart says he's studied seminary at Southern Bible Institute and he ministers people in his community now. He wants to add Hardy to his flock ... "My son talks to him a lot and has been asking me to mentor him so I will be really interested to do it”.

The San Francisco 49ers booted a fan and his service dog from Levi's Stadium which made the fan have a seizure ... according to the lawsuit he's now filed against the team.

James Hilburn says he and his Alaskan malamute, Bear, had no problems entering the Niners-Cardinals game on November 29 -- the ticket taker let them in, no questions asked. In his suit, Hilburn says he suffers myoclonic dystonia ... which causes seizures. Bear is trained to alert him and people nearby when one is about to hit.

In the lawsuit, James says once he entered the staidum, police and security guards surrounded him and said Bear was not allowed to be there -- and the stressful situation triggered a seizure.

TMZ Sports obtained video Hilburn's friend shot, and you can hear Bear yelping a warning. Police and stadium staff attempted to get a shuttle to pick them up, but Hilburn declined. He did end up suffering, and had to be hospitalized, according to his lawyer Mark Thomas.

Hilburn wants the team to pay for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

We reached out to the 49ers who told us they do not comment on pending litigation.

Round 1 of the NFL playoffs jumps off today, and we're celebrating the best way we know how -- with the hottest wives and gfs who'll be cheering on their dudes and the 8 teams playing this weekend.

Check out the gallery to see which squad wins in the hot WAG department.

Seth McFarlane's go-to set o' gonads belong to one Tom Brady ... as we learned when Seth dropped some "Ted 2" trivia on us.

Rap star Common says there are no shortcuts to greatness ... and athletes who use HGH can never, ever be compared to legends like Michael Jordan and LeBron James ... who did it au naturel.

Common was out in Beverly Hills when we talked all things sports with him ... and when the conversation turned to HGH ... the Chicago rapper sounded off.

HGH is a hot topic right now ... with everyone from Mark Cuban to Chris D'elia weighing in on whether or not its time for the sports world to accept the health benefits the drug can offer.

Check it out -- Common's not the type of guy to diss anyone -- but he makes it clear -- HGH just takes all the wonder and fun -- out of professional sports.

Cam Newton's side job -- hosting and producing a kids show for Nickelodeon -- could be in jeopardy ... because the show was allegedly ripped off from a children's author.

The author, Nick Katsoris, just filed a lawsuit over "I Wanna Be" ... the show where the Carolina Panthers superstar QB will help kids make their dreams come true. In his suit, Katsoris says he went to Nickelodeon twice to pitch a show based on his 2007 "Dream Day Contest."

The contest featured a character called Loukoumi the Lamb -- from his series of books -- and asked kids to finish the phrase, "I WANT TO BE A _____ BECAUSE ..."

According to the suit, Katsoris hired talent agency IMG to produce a reality show special, which aired on FOX in October 2014.

He then pitched it to Nickelodeon in July 2015, and then a couple months later ... the network announced it was doing "I Wanna Be" with Cam, an IMG client.

Katsoris says they merely swapped "Loukoumi for Cam Newton." He wants the court to block Nickelodeon and IMG from using the title, and to stop the release of the show later this year.

Raiders, Rams and Chargers fans up in arms about their teams trying to bolt to Los Angeles are looking at this the wrong way ... according to former NFL star Eric Davis.

Davis won a Super Bowl with the 49ers, so he's up on Bay Area fans -- and we asked if Oakland's Raider Nation might jump to the other team in town if the Silver and Black head south again. It's the question millions of fans in St. Louis (who've also been through this before) and San Diego are asking themselves right now.

Well, check out ED's answer ... it might calm nerves in all 3 cities. In a nutshell -- rep your team, not your city.

Johnny Manziel's wigged-out Las Vegas adventure is not just urban legend -- it's now a major windfall for the makers of some clever new Manziel gear.

Yeah, Tom Coughlin got canned, but he's leaving with something almost no other NY Giants coach has ... according to U.S. Congressman Peter T. King.

When we got the distinguished gentleman from NY we had to ask what he thought about NY's coaching vacancy. King's sure the G-Men will easily land a new leader easily, and he's also sure Coughlin's "gonna go down in history as one of the top 2 Giant coaches."

So, why'd he get fired? King offers an explanation in the clip.

What he doesn't say is ... who's #1, if TC's #2. We're guessing he's thinking Bill Parcells, but truth is -- he and Coughlin have identical playoff records (with the Giants) and same # of Super Bowl rings.

Three-time Super Bowl champ Daryl "Moose" Johnston wants Johnny Manziel far, far away from big D, because he's way too immature to handle the pressure of playing for America's team.

TMZ Sports talked to the ex-Cowboy about rumors Dallas could be Johnny Football's next stop if the Browns cut bait -- and right now Johnston thinks the "risk far outweighs the reward with Johnny. He would be a huge distraction."

He also said, "If he's having trouble away from the field in Cleveland then he would really struggle in Dallas ... the spotlight is so much bigger."

Of course, Jerry Jones has talked about how close he came to drafting Johnny, and according to several reports ... Texas native Manziel WANTS to be a Cowboy.

While Tony Romo will be back as the starter ... the 'Boys do need a decent backup (Romo's got a history). So, what about another QB looking for a fresh start ... RG III?

NFL vet Shaun Smith set off a firestorm when he tweeted a photo of his handgun along with what sounds like a thinly veiled threat to his haters, but he says everyone's got him wrong.

The ex-Bengals and Chiefs defensive lineman says he was going back and forth with fans on Twitter about KC's upcoming playoff game, when things got a little heated. He tells TMZ Sports, "Everyone was talking all this macho stuff."

Here's something you probably haven't heard since oh ... 2013 or so ... Robert Griffin III can be one of the NFL's greatest signal callers ever -- at least according to one ex Redskins star.

Albert Haynesworth tells TMZ Sports RG3 needs to change zip codes though, if he's going to get over the hump in his pro career because ... "It looks like they don't believe in him. I'm not there so I can't say why they don't."

He thinks Griffin can prove he's got Hall of Fame stuff if he gets on a different squad in 2016.

Haynesworth signed a $100 million deal with Washington back in '09, but got traded 2 years later ... and recently criticized the team's handling of "high profile players." But he also thinks RG3 needs to get out because the fans in DC won't cut him a break.

3 NFL teams are suddenly like waiters on the Sunset Strip ... trying to get a break in Hollywood -- the Chargers, Rams and Raiders all filed docs with the league to move to Los Angeles.

Sorry, NY Jets fans ... you are NOT suffering the most after your team crapped the bed with that loss to the Bills -- that honor goes to the wife of your star cornerback, Antonio Cromartie.

Terricka Cason poured out her emotions about the Jets blowing their shot at the playoffs, and she is pissed ... like most Jets faithful. It's just that Mrs. Cro has a much different reason for her anger.

Just watch the clip ... it's painful and hysterical at the same time -- but as Terricka puts it, "My husband is going to be home every damn day. I’m going to have to get up every damn day, act like im doing something."

That's just a taste. Her rant is priceless.

Marshawn Lynch is sidelined with an injury, but his Beast Mode brand is rolling like never before ... and it's all for a good cause.

Lynch teamed with McLoughlin Jeep in Oregon to create 24 limited edition "Beast Mode" vehicles for sale at the dealership ... with part of the proceeds benefiting Marshawn's charity -- Family 1st Foundation.

We spoke to Christopher Bevans -- who runs Beast Mode -- and he tells us each Jeep will "truly be one of a kind” ... patterned after Marshawn's own personal style.

Of course Lynch copped one for himself ... and it's tricked out with $100k worth of customization including premium leather, a high end paint job and an "insane" sound system.

BTW, if you're wondering how much Lynch's custom ride set him back ... it was the low, low price of ON DA HOUSE.

Seems there's a bright side to not making the playoffs ... Double Doubles ... 'cause Rams stud Akeem Ayers says he's gonna start his off-season conditioning at IN-N-OUT!!!

Ayers was out at Mastro's grabbing a "light" bite when we asked him what would be the first thing he stuffs his face with when the season is finito ... and he no longer has to watch what he eats.

Peep the clip -- Akeem KNOWS what he wants ... and how he wants it ... saying he's going full fat boy at the fast food joint, with "animal style" everything (grilled onions, special sauce, cheese).